BCF Creed: Cheating

Written by Meriah | posted in Other, Workout of the Day | 2 Comments

“I never cheat. There is not honor in cheating.

What joy can there be in a victory I did not earn?”

“Busted!”

Even if you don’t want to admit it, you are competitive.  Yes, yes you are even if you never enter a competition you are competitive.  No body likes to finish last so you work hard so your not last, oop there it is!  Competitive!  Or how about when you come to the gym and before you do anything else you check the work and look at your secret (or not so secret) nemesis so know you know what you need to do?  Ooop there it is again, competitive!  Now to what degree is a totally different ball game, and what you’ll do to ‘win’ will vary.  Am I saying competetive people are cheaters?  Absolutely….NOT!  Gotcha!  Here are some ways you might be cheating (intentionally or accidentally), and how it impacts your fitness.

1.  Not counting your reps.

• This is intentionally shorting the number of reps you are completing.  You think we don’t notice?  We do.
• Intentionally not counting.  We’ve all gotten lost in workouts when you are working hard counting seems impossible, however intentionally not counting because maybe you’re mad or embarrassed with your performance you are still cheating your self.  How can you track your progress if you aren’t tracking it from the beginning? Fitness is a giant science experiment, how do you know if something is or isn’t working when you haven’t been tracking your results good or ‘bad’ ?

2. Shorting range of motion.  Yes it is hard to get that last bit down in the pushup, or squat.  And why is a 1/4″ to lock out on a ring dip the hardest part?  Yes it is hard, we know, you know what is harder?  Watching someone beat you who is doing have the range of motion work.  Oop competitive!  Also you are cheating your functional fitness.  Think the the future, as you age you want the strength to push you up off the floor when you fall (chest to deck pus ups, and squatting below parallel), you want their independence to live alone and be able to get in and out of chairs unassisted (including the ‘throne’ in the bathroom)?  That is squatting below parallel.  Using the counters to pull your self up, pulllups.  I can go on and on. The snatch isn’t functional you say?!?  Oh ho ho!  Let go with the obvious 1st.  Squatting.  Not so obvious – agility.  Sick people don’t put their hands out then they fall their reaction time is too slow.  What you do you hear in the snatch? Faster!

3.  Not logging your workouts.  This is cheating?!  You bet! You are cheating yourself!  How do you know you are progressing forward if you don’t know how or what you’ve done int he past?  You want to go Rx’d?  Show your coach your work to earning your fitness to complete an Rx’d workout.

4.  Always scaling to finish 1st.  Is it cheating?  Yep, you are cheating your fitness by never challenging yourself!

5.  Never scaling even if it means always finishing last.  Also cheating your fitness!  You never know what it is like to to push the boundaries of INTENSITY when you have to stop and rest after every rep.  Ever been leveled by a 2 min workout?  As I type this I cough out my “Grace” lung.  2 min or work can be really hard!   Check out Catalyst Athletics horse power calculator.  See how your horse power changes if you do the  a heavier weight but slower, or lighter weight but faster.  Now go back to #6.  Think if you short your ROM 2 more inches, calucalte how much less work that is over the course of a workout.

6.  Skipping workouts.  Most like if you are avoiding them you need to do them!

You get the point in cheating, sometimes it is intentional and sometimes is it just being unaware!  Keep working hard and earn you elite fitness!

Today’s Workout:
30 Handstand push-ups
40 Pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 poods/1.0pood
60 Sit-ups
70 Burpees

Post Results to Beyond the Whiteboard.

 

Good luck to the competitors at the CrossFit Emergence Winter Challenge Today!  Watch FaceBook for updates!

 

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